Bank cards linked with social security cards
27/4/2004 16:53
A trial operation that will begin next month will link bank cards with
local social security cards. Shanghai residents will be able to have their
medical charges paid through bank cards, the Shanghai Morning Post reported
today.
By June this year, the China UnionPay Co Ltd will cooperate with five
local banks and four hospitals to begin the program on a trial basis.
At
present, besides paying part of medical fees through social security cards,
local residents must pay the other half at their own expenses.
By the end of
this year or early next year, when the program has been in operation for some
time, the user-paid portion of the medical fees can automatically be deducted
from bank cards, which will be convenient
for local residents and will expand
the scale of bank card use, said an industry analyst.
Local hospitals are
currently installing and testing these machines and all the relevant
systems.
According to the Shanghai Health Bureau, only 38 medical institutes
in Shanghai can receive payment by credit card to date, less than one percent of
the total medical institutes in the city.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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